NEWS

Record hike in fuel prices

Queues formed and petrol stations ran out of fuel in Fethiye as people rushed to fill up vehicles before a record hike in fuel prices came into effect at midnight on February 25.

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, the Brent crude prices rose to an 8-year high. The Energy Oil Gas Refueling Stations’ Employers Union (EPGİS) announced that fuel oil prices would be increased as of midnight (February 25). The price of a litre of gasoline has been increased by 1.61 Turkish Lira (TRY), and the price of diesel has been increased by 1.51 TRY.

By Saturday morning, fuel prices in Fethiye had surpassed 17 TL per litre.

Source: Fethiye Haber Bülteni

Turkish climate envoys vow to fight climate change at Konya council

Student representatives acting as climate ambassadors from throughout Turkey convened in the central province of Konya on Monday to take part in the country’s first climate council, which also provided the opportunity of direct contact with relevant stakeholders in devising actions to prevent climate change.

Around 209 climate ambassadors from universities in Turkey’s 81 provinces met with Environment, Urbanism and Climate Change Minister Murat Kurum, making urgent calls for the transition to a greener Turkiye.

“We represent not only climate ambassadors, but also 15 million young people who share common concerns about the climate crisis,” said Mustafa Özaktaş, one of the young ambassadors, who read the Youth Declaration for urgent action in the fight against climate change.

In order to achieve the goal of the Paris Climate Agreement and to comply with the Green Deal, the youths demand that all businesses implement cleaner and sustainable models in their production-consumption processes, said Ali Eren from Süleyman Demirel University.

Turkey’s first climate council kicked off on Monday with the aim of establishing a roadmap in line with the Paris Agreement to reach net-zero emissions by 2053.

Over 1,000 representatives of public institutions and universities, scientists, business people, farmers and activists attended the event.

The country is expected to submit its updated nationally determined contributions at the 27th Conference of Parties (COP27), which will take place in Egypt this year and where green financing will be among the main topics.

A Climate Law, set for completion this year, is regarded as another milestone in the fight against climate change.

Source: Daily Sabah

Marriages, divorces on rise in Turkey, says TÜİK

More people in Turkey got married and divorced in 2021 compared to the previous year, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) said, in contrast to a sharp decrease seen in 2020 due to reasons believed mostly to be caused by the pandemic.

The figures show the number of couples who got married in 2021 increased by 15.1 per cent and similarly, the number of couples who got divorced decreased by 27.4 per cent. The number of couples that got married last year was 561,710, while 174,085 couples divorced.

The highest divorce rate occurred in the Aegean province of İzmir and the metropolis was followed by the Mediterranean province of Antalya and the southwestern province of Uşak, respectively.

The highest marriage rate was in Kilis, a province on Turkey’s Syrian border followed by nearby Şanlıurfa and Adıyaman.

Turkey’s inflation seen jumping to 53% in February

Turkey’s annual inflation is expected to rise to nearly 53% in February, the highest in 20 years, as rising food and energy prices continue to push prices higher, a Reuters poll showed on Friday.

Turkey’s consumer price index has surged since last fall as the lira weakened after the central bank in September embarked on an easing cycle long sought by President Tayyip Erdogan.

The unorthodox rate cuts, that saw the policy rate slashed by 500 basis points to 14%, led to a currency crisis that caused the lira to lose 44% of its value against the dollar last year.

The lira’s decline sent inflation soaring to nearly 50% last month, its highest level under Erdogan’s nearly 20-year rule, as Turkey hiked prices across the board, from road tolls to electricity.

Turkey lowered VAT on food to 1% from 8% in February to fight inflation, which economists expect to lower annual inflation by 150 basis points in two months.

A unions confederation calculated that despite the VAT cut food prices increased by 7.1% in February in the capital Ankara.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has also raised concerns of further inflationary pressure in Turkey, an importer of oil, natural gas and grains, the prices of which have surged due to the conflict. Economists see continued upward pressure on the producer price index after it exceeded 90% in January.

The Turkish Statistical Institute will release February inflation data at 0700 GMT on March 3.

Source: Reuters